Herbert served on the Utah County Commission for 14 years. During that time he was president of the Utah Association of Counties and the Utah Association of Realtors.[4]

An analysis of Republican governors by Nate Silver of the New York Times in April 2013 ranked Herbert as the 25th most conservative governor in the country.[5] Herbert is a member of the executive committee of the National Governor's Association. He, along with eight other governors, will determine the association's priorities and actions for the year. He was named to this leadership role in August, 2013.[6]

Biography

Gary R. Herbert was born in American Fork, Utah to Paul and Carol Peters and was later adopted by his stepfather, Duane Herbert. He grew up in Orem, Utah and after graduating from Orem High School served a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Eastern Atlantic States Mission.[8]

He attended, but did not graduate from, Brigham Young University. While studying there, Herbert joined the Utah National Guard, serving for six years and eventually earning the rank of staff sergeant. When his military service was completed, he embarked on a career in real estate, founding Herbert & Associates Realtors, a brokerage firm based in Orem. Herbert and his wife, Jeannette, also founded and ran a child care service in Orem for 23 years.[8]

Job creation ranking

In a June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals which ranked 45 of the country's 50 governors by their job creation record, Herbert was ranked number 3. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013. The ranking was based on a comparison of the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.[9][10]

Judicial appointments

As governor, Herbert is responsible for appointing judges to Utah state courts. In Utah, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. After the governor appoints a judge, she or he must be confirmed by the Utah State Senate. Judges then stand for retention in the next general election more than three years after appointment. For an up-to-date list of all of Herbert's appointees, see Judgepedia's page on his appointments.

Presidential preference

Controversies

Favoritism

Governor Herbert awarded a $700,000 anti-tobacco contract to R&R Partners, a company that formerly did work on behalf of tobacco interests in Nevada. The Utah Democratic party accused Herbert of favoritism as one of his advisers is a principal partner of the firm.
The Utah Department of Health released that the state purchasing director reviewed the case and was aware of their pro-tobacco work. The state maintains the Governor's office was not an influence in the decision.[12]

Campaign finance

Herbert's eligibility to hold the governorship was questioned when former Independent candidate for Utah lieutenant governor Steve Maxfield filed a complaint alleging Herbert broke campaign finance laws in his filings for the 2012 election. Maxfield launched his whistleblowing efforts against Herbert in 2010 when he filed his first petition with the Utah Supreme court vis-a-vis Herbert's funding by political action committees. The state laws about the proper use of political action committees are murky: candidates must conduct all election-related fundraising and expenditure through their campaign committees to address and make transparent any potential conflicts of interest, except contributions from special-interest PACs are also permissible.[13] The inconsistency provides a legal grey area in which candidates can circumvent standard report filing rules when accepting extra cash from a PAC, as Maxfield argues Herbert did in the 2010 special election, and has done this year. After his first petition was rejected, Maxfield pressed the Lt. Governor's office to remove Herbert from the 2012 ballot for repeating the finance report integrity breaches in his 2011 and 2012 filings. On March 20, 2012 Utah's director of elections rejected this complaint as well, and the Lt. Gov Greg Bell said "the candidate filing the governor submitted last week only applies to upcoming disclosures, not those from past elections."[14] Maxfield, who said he considered appealing the newest ruling in district court, maintains that Herbert is "statutorily not qualified because he’s been continuing to use the PAC."[14]

Lieutenant Governor of Utah (2005-2009)

In 2004, Herbert was a candidate for Governor of Utah until one month before the state nominating convention. At that point, he teamed up with Jon Huntsman and ran as his lieutenant governor. The pair defeated incumbent Olene Walker at the Republican convention and went on to win the general election in November.

Utah County Commissioner (1990-2004)

Herbert is a former member of the Utah County Commission. While serving as commissioner, he received the National Outstanding Republican County Elected Official of the Year award.

2010

Utah was not scheduled to hold a gubernatorial election until 2012. However, elected Republican Jon Huntsman gave up the seat to serve as U.S. Ambassador to China in August 2009. Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert assumed the governorship upon Huntsman's departure, and won the seat by special election in 2010.

With 70.8% of the vote, acting governor Herbert overtook two fellow Republicans to secure the party's nomination in the 2010 special election primary race for governor.

Governor, 2010

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Gary R. Herbert

71.1%

2,386

Daniel Van Oaks Jr.

24.7%

830

Richard Martin

4.2%

141

Total Votes

3,357

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Herbert is available dating back to 2008. Based on available campaign finance records, Herbert raised a total of $6,213,102 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 9, 2013.[18]

Gary R. Herbert's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2012

Governor of Utah

$3,636,956

2010

Governor of Utah

$2,572,637

2008

Utah Lieutenant Governor

$3,509

Grand Total Raised

$6,213,102

2012

Herbert won re-election to the position of Utah Governor in 2012. During that election cycle, Herbert raised a total of $3,636,956.

2010

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Gary Herbert's donors each year.[19] Click [show] for more information.